Tiling a Backsplash with uneven Countertops

I did the November article for Her on how to tile a backsplash. While it actually an easy project that just looks intimidating there can be some tricks to it. Having an home built in the 40's pretty much means that if I am doing anything that involves the wall, floor, ceiling, etc. I can guarentee that they will not be square. So here's a little tutorial on how to make your backsplash straight even if your counters are not.

1. Start by finding the low point of your counter (just take several measurements from top of counter to bottom of cabinets to find). Place a whole tile against the wall at this point and mark the wall at the top of the tile.

2. Now using a level make a line on your wall all the way around the area you'll be tiling.

3. Now going along the wall hold up a tile to the wall and mark on the tile where the line is. While doing this number your tiles as you go so you will know which tile goes where.

4. Take the tiles to the tile saw and make all the cuts.

5. Adhere them to the wall and then you can start with the second row just like normal.

Add a little Halloween decor with Coasters

I wanted to add a little cute, not in your face Halloween decor to the house to get the boys excited about Fall and with Subway art all over the blog world thought up these coasters which are super easy to make (would be easier if I had a vinyl cutter but hopefully one day soon). This project is the Her How-To for October to so you can pick up a copy to see it in print.

Supplies:
4 square ceramic tiles
Mod Podge
Scrapbook paper of choice
Contact Paper
Xacto Knife
Paint
Clear Acrylic Spray
Design (I just did mine in Word and printed it out)
16 Felt Circles



Trace your design onto the paper side of the contact paper having it appear backwards...


Use your xacto knife to cut out the words from the contact paper (you are making a stencil of the words so save the insides of the letters to use).

Peel contact paper square and place on the scrapbooked tile. Paint over the stencil a couple of times and then peel off the contact paper while the paint is still wet to keep the contact paper from tearing (if it tears a little just press down...you'll be sealing it later).

After the paint dries paint a quick coat of Mod Podge to seal. Once that dries then go to town with the clear acrylic spray...I think I did 5 coats (their coasters so I wanted them sealed really well.

Add felt circles to the bottom corners.

Repeat 3 more times and you'll have a unique way to decor your home for the holiday.

Or tie a little burlap strip around and take as a hostess gift to all your spooky parties.


If you are interested in my template just email me and I can send it your way. I think I might make up some with just an intial in the middle for teacher gifts for Christmas (last year I had 14 teacher gifts to get for just two boys..I taught at two different schools. This year we are down to one so should be much better).

No Fireplace, No Problem

One thing our house does not have that I've always wanted is a fireplace (really just to hang stockings from at Christmas time). So I've seen in a few different homes and magazines old fireplace mantels with sconces in the middle and had mention to Brandon my desire for this and him being so sweet remembered when he was gutting an old home which just so happened to have a mantel they were getting rid of and brought it home to me as a present. After having it on a few different walls in the living room to try it out (Brandon knows better then to screw it in right away) it has found a home and gotten the perfect sconce for the middle just in time for the holidays.

Party Planning

Well it seems that starting to work 5 days a week has really slowed me down, but I'm hoping that this weekend with no big plans besides a tee ball game I will get a major cleaning done on the house and then get back on track on my projects to share...I still haven't even painted the trim in the yellow bathroom. So today I thought I would share one of my favorite party blogs...The TomKat Studio. She has so many cute things that you can get to make your party perfect and personalized. I do like to start thinking up ideas far in advanced for parties and even though we might not have the budget I would like for our parties I try to make them still special. So my latest planning is for the boys birthday party. They fall a little over a week apart and right around Christmas (yes I start thinking about things early). This year the P wants a Santa themed party which works out nicely as it is the season and our house will be decorated so I think I might do a candy shop theme or milk and cookies theme to go along with it.

All things chalkboard

I know chalkboard has bee all over the place lately, and I have to admit I love the chalkboard paint, but I will say I did this project about a year and a half ago (however it's not done yet...on my list). Anyway, I had Brandon cut some plywood to the right size then painted two with chalkboard paint and covered two with batting and fabric for a corkboard (if I was doing it again I would of also put a layer of cork under the batting and fabric to make it a little more user friendly...I often have to get the hammer out to put stuff up. So then we hung them up on sliders and have sliding doors to the laundry room that are very functional. Now I just need to paint the trim around it so it will look complete.
So then last month I got my free Glidden paint in the mail and had found these 4 chairs at a junk store for $24 for all 4 and decided to paint them blue to match the curtains and needed to do something to spruce up the table as it was pretty old and had been used for my brothers and sister and then parkes so had lots of wear and tear and then it hit me...I had extra chalkboard paint left. So several coats later I have a table the boys love to draw on, hopefully they won't think you can draw on ever table.And here's our fun labor day plans, watching football and laying grass seed and hay. We wanted to level out the yard where we had a few low spots and water would sit after it rained. We've had dirt now since the spring patiently waiting to get it all smoothed out and lay seed at the best time so I'm very excited to get some grass back there for the boys to get to run. A money saving tip on dirt if someone is building or renovating near you and you are looking to even out a slope then ask about them dumping it in your yard where you need it. It saves them money and time to dump it near by. It might not be on your time schedule, but it's free.

Silverware Caddy

About two months ago I was reading my ReadyMade magazine and came across this cute idea. If you have ever long for more free magazine subscriptions then you can read then check out some of the money saving blogs...I now get emails like crazy from rewards gold about magazines and get everything from Martha Stewart to Builder magazines completely free. Anyway back to the cute idea, so they had a six pack holder converted into a silverware/condiment caddy. First you cover the whole thing in duct tape to make it nice and sturdy. Then they suggested using wrapping paper, but I only had scrapbooking paper on hand (in a print I liked) so I went to work covering it in that . I did notice with the scrapbooking paper being thicker I had some bad edges so I grabbed a bag of random ribbon and started covering the edges. So now for just stuff I had on hand I know have a cute caddy to use when entertaining and it only took an hour (including all the time I had my 4 year old asking questions and seeing if he could help).And I am still working on the yellow bathroom. Hopefully, be ready to reveal it soon. It did have to get to a presentable state for Friday night when we had some people over, but still has painting of all the trim to really finish up. The brightness of the yellow does not shine through in this picture so I'll have to try better lightening for the final picture.

Front Porch Makeover

The front of our house we felt was always a little dull and lacked the character of the inside of the home that we loved. We had always had plans to add a large covered front porch since it was something we both have said was what we saw in our dream home, so back in December we made it happen. So stay tune for before and after shots of the house before and after deck, but for now here's the shutters and flower box Brandon made me to add curb appeal. We looked at stores for shutters we liked, but they were a little more then we wanted to spend for the cheap kind I didn't even like...we're talking $45 a pair for the size we needed and that is not even the ones I wanted. Might not seem like a lot for some, but when it's just a piece of vinyl and there wasn't even any they I loved it is a lot. So we went home and as I looked through my Lowe's Creative Ideas magazine I saw something similar to these. Gave the magazine to Brandon and said I want these and he went out and made them...what a sweetie. We stained them the same color as the porch to tie it all in together and I do have one more project to come that will use the wood and stain as a little decor piece for the porch that I will hopefully get to here soon.
Then being the wonderful guy he is, Brandon set out to build me a window box for the windows on the other side of the house that I have said I have wanted for about 4 years now.
But of course I did not make it easy on him when I requested that it hold pots instead of being one box so I can easily change out plants that die...I don't have the greenest thumb.
So this weekend Brandon will be making 7 sets of the shutters for another house, so if you are interested in the shutters or flower box let us know and he can get you prices and even install them for you.

A little about our home and us...

I decided to start this blog to document our home renovations while showing how easy it is to do some of these projects that seem hard and some unique ideas we have found along the way. We moved into our house a little over 5 years ago after making several offers on other house in another area of town and being out bid we finally found this house and loved it for the potential we saw. Our house was built in 1946 in an area of town that was built as a place for blue collar workers to live. Houses are now being renovated all over the neighborhood without taking away the character that we love of the neighborhood and we like the challenge of keeping with the character in our renovations on our budget. About 3 years ago is when we really started renovating which we have primarily done completely on our own (I am lucky to have a contractor as a husband who worked through college framing houses and everything else so he truly knows how to do it all...know he does more supervising then hands on until he comes home). So we've done the major construction of expanding the upstairs and removing several walls. We have two boys so most of our work time is on the weekends during afternoon nap (well at least one naps...the 4 year old quit naps at 18 months) so we make the most of our 2 hours in the afternoon. So our challenge is to go room by room for the next few months and finish up all the loss ends with the "little" projects I have come up with. I'm hoping documenting it will inspire us to get things done while sharing our tips for saving money and not looking like every other house on the block by using unique materials usual found or refurnished in our case. Also, I will be showcasing some of the projects we've done that my husband makes and sells in his spare time.